


Unexplained Occurrence

by kurokobun



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Romance, Time Travel, commission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-10
Updated: 2015-11-10
Packaged: 2018-05-01 00:35:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5185472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kurokobun/pseuds/kurokobun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While looking for a gift for Kuroko's birthday in an old antique shop Kagami accidentally ends up traveling back in time and as fate would have it, runs into the Kuroko who still attends Teiko Junior High.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unexplained Occurrence

“I have to get him something good.”

Kagami pulled at his hair in frustration as he moved through the various shelves of antiques and notably old books. The shop was filled with artifacts, but he was mostly here for the collection of books. He and Kuroko had been dating for a very short time; today would mark the three-week anniversary of the date they confessed and the blue haired boy’s birthday was right around the corner. The amount of time they had dated didn’t count, because far before the confession they had become best friends.

Based on their closeness and the fact that they were finally an item, Kagami _knew_ this birthday present had to be special. It had to be something Kuroko would love. Problem was, Kagami was not… good with gifts. Ask Tatsuya or Alex… or anyone else who’d known him for a while.

Of course, Kuroko had celebrated birthdays since they’d known each other and up until this point Kagami had been lucky that Kuroko had required new basketball equipment every time.

He’d gotten so used to the idea that on Kuroko’s birthday he got him something basketball related that he needed so he almost walked into that trap, but two days before Kuroko’s birthday he’d ran into Kise. At this point, he couldn’t even remember _how_ he’d revealed to Kise that he hadn’t given Kuroko’s gift much thought, but he had and the blond had been horrified.

(“Kagamicchi! He’s your _boyfriend_ ; he needs something special, idiot!”)

He’d been a bit insulted, but after Kise had given his reasoning for his horrified expression he had realized he was absolutely right. Of course, Kurko deserved something amazing. He’d proposed he’d cook something, but Kise had pointed out he “made amazing food for Kurokocchi all the time” and that was definitely correct, so he’d thrown that out the door.

Unfortunately, in terms of creativity outside of the kitchen he was lacking.

He had made a list of stuff he thought his blue haired teammate would like. Books had been his safe bet. Kuroko loved books. When he slept over at Kagami’s he would often lean against the redhead’s chest as he sat in his lap. Kagami would watch re-runs of basketball games in America and Kuroko would silently read novel upon novel.

Himuro had proposed an old book shop or any place with old books really, since those were most likely not as easily obtained in any regular book shop and could thus be more special and lessen the risk of Kagami getting Kuroko a book he already had. So here he was, in an antique shop, one day before Kuroko’s big day, looking for anything that could be special enough for the guy he loved.

So far no luck.

“I’m sure we’ll find something,” Himuro murmured as he too ventured through the various shelves. “What are Kuroko-kun’s favorite genres?”

“Adventure, fantasy… romance, sometimes,” Kagami rubbed the back of his neck and was about to say he’d wished he’d paid more attention to what Kuroko was reading all those times sitting in his lap, but he stepped over a wooden toy and fell flat on his face instead.

He groaned, rubbed his temple and raised his gaze. He’d landed in front of an old clock with various engravings he’d never seen before. “Pretty,” he murmured, raising an eyebrow as he picked it up. At the time, it didn’t occur to him that it had been placed on the floor, hidden between a small stack of books in the messy shop. He held it up curiously, head tilting to the side as he inspected it.

“What is it?” Himuro stuck his head out from behind another line of bookshelves, blinking since Kagami was still on his knees on the floor.

“Just some dumb old clock. Keep lookin’, please?”

“You know, Taiga, for a guy who does air battle during basketball matches you’re really clumsy,” Himuro said with a deadpanned expression as he withdrew his head again.

“Shut up!”

Himuro just laughed at him.

Grumbling under his breath, Kagami stood up with the clock in hand, still looking at it with curious eyes. It looked like it had stopped. He turned it on its head, and experimentally turned the pointers around four times, then got bored and put it back, where he’d fallen in front of it shaking his head. It was really nice looking, but it had stopped and besides, he didn’t think Kuroko was so old-fashioned he’d like an antique.

“Hey, Tatsuya, did you find anything?”

“Tatsuya?”

With a frown, Kagami moved back around where Himuro had just retreated, but blinked when he found… nothing. His frown deepened. This was strange. Himuro liked to tease him, but he’d never leave without telling him and he too wanted him to find a good present for Kuroko so what the heck was going on? Confused, Kagami ventured back to the way they’d come into the store in the first place, but to his confusion he found none of the customers he’d seen when he first came in here just fifteen minutes ago.

Not the little girl, tugging obnoxiously on her mother’s arm sleeve, not the old man who had stood over by the table with the newspapers… He was about to turn to the cashier and ask if she’d seen his brother walk out when he realized it wasn’t a she. The teenager who’d been reading one of those magazines that he distinctively remembered because Kise had been on the cover wasn’t there anymore. Instead, there was an middle aged man, putting some books on display on the cashier.

This didn’t make any sense. He’d been with that clock for maybe a minute, but not more than that. His eyes drifted over to the table with the papers when something caught his attention.

Hold on.

That date couldn’t be right.

Confused, he lifted the first paper he could reach to his eyes. This paper was four years old.

He had to be dreaming.

This made… absolutely no sense.

He would have to call Himuro. Maybe… maybe he’d gone because of an emergency? Maybe the guy had switched with the girl because her shift was over, and maybe… maybe the papers into his old shop were just old? It was a better explanation than the bizarre thought that had briefly entered his head.

He reached his hand down in his left pocket. Nothing.

He reached his hand down in his right pocket. Nothing.

Why didn’t he have his phone?

He’d just had it.

Okay, he was officially freaking out. He had to get out of here, right now. Quickly, he opened the door and moved outside, contemplating where to go. He tapped both his jacket pockets and his pants pockets again. Keys, wallet, phone, even the package of gum he’d had on him – all gone.

The hell had just happened? Had he lost them when he fell? No, no he’d felt his phone because he’d landed on it partially. He made his way down the street, eyes darting from side to side as he wondered what to do. He… he could find a phone. A payphone.

Yes, he just had to–

Kagami froze. He’d just rounded a corner when he saw something. Or rather someone.

This didn’t make any sense. It couldn’t be…

In front of him he saw Kuroko Tetsuya. His boyfriend. And he was wearing a Teiko Junior High Uniform.

––

Kagami was following him. He didn’t know what else to do. He’d just realized he’d gone back in time. It horrified and confused him, but instead of instantly going back he had followed Kuroko almost on instinct. He had no idea where the blue haired boy was going, but he seemed… upset. Very upset.

The redhead couldn’t recall ever seeing Kuroko this way. They’d known each other for a long, long time, but the expression he was harboring was new to him. It was pained, sad, frustrated. Sure, the same emotions had been present on some occasions when Kuroko had been playing basketball. Kagami remembered their games towards Touou in particular, but it was different this time.

It was somehow worse.

He had to admit hid feel a bit creepy for following Kuroko like this, but he didn’t know what else to do. He looked so upset, and he looked so… so young. He couldn’t even have hit puberty full on yet, which further confirmed what Kagami had realized, but didn’t want to admit to. He had traveled back in time and somehow he was seeing middle school Kuroko – _Teiko Kuroko_ – right before his eyes.

The only thing he could piece together was that this was possibly the time where things were rough with the basketball team. Kuroko hadn’t been detailed about his own feelings when he had told them about everything that had happened, but Kagami had pretty much guessed considering everything that had gone down. Friends breaking apart… that sort of thing wasn’t exactly _easy_ ; Kagami recalled himself how he’d felt about what happened between him and Himuro.

He watched as Kuroko made his way to a basketball court. Wait… he’d been here before. Not often, but Kagami knew this court. He’d played on it a couple of times after having moved back to Japan when the one closest to his apartment had been occupied.

He stayed away far enough that he could see Kuroko but not hear him. He watched him pick up the phone. He felt strange watching him like this. Seeing him so young and so frustrated. He had a strange urge to go down and comfort him, but if that really was Junior High Kuroko that would not only inappropriate but could be potentially dangerous.

Fuck, he didn’t know much about time-travel, but he couldn’t go down to Kuroko and be: “Hey, I’m your future teammate and boyfriend, do you need a hug?” No, no it didn’t work like that, but saddened expression on his face… Kagami felt himself swallow. The person he was talking to on the phone seemed to cheer him up at least a little.

When Kuroko hung up he stood up from where he’d been sitting, watching him, and it was then he had the most bizarre experience of his life. It was him, he was watching _himself_ , walk down the court and… why couldn’t he remember this? He knew he forgot a lot of minor details that didn’t matter to him, but his own middle school himself was literally talking to Kuroko… They hadn’t met in High School. They had met here, on this court.

The meeting was brief, soon Kagami watched Kuroko walk away and he was struggling what to do next. He quickly realized he couldn’t talk to _himself_. How would that even work? Would he have a memory of himself talking to his future self, which was him right now…? Oh man, this was confusing.

He should… go back.

But…

He found himself walking in the direction Kuroko had gone off to despite his previous thoughts. He didn’t know what he was looking for or why he was looking for it, but he kept walking behind Kuroko until the blue haired boy reached his home. Kagami expected him to go inside, which would end this stalking he’d been doing since he got here (again, he couldn’t explain _why_ ), but instead Kuroko went through the back yard. Kagami had been there several times and knew Kuroko liked sitting at the terrace when he needed some time for himself. The boy put his school bag away and sat down, a sigh slipping past his lips.

Swallowing, Kagami frowned. Would it be that bad? Maybe this wasn’t… real time travel. Maybe it wouldn’t affect the future? What if he was dreaming? Actually, that would explain a lot. He kept going after Kuroko without knowing why his instincts told him to, he kept rejecting the idea of going back as if he sensed he had some purpose for being here.

Suddenly, he got an idea.

––

Kuroko had been spacing out, gaze fixed to his lap, when Kagami pretended to have accidently thrown a basketball into his yard. Had he just gone back to the basketball court where he briefly remembered he’d seen an abandoned basketball to fulfill his plan? Yes, yes he had. It was the only thing he could think of that would cause a natural way of coming in contact with the middle school version of his boyfriend. He’d thrown the ball a bit hard so it almost hit Kuroko’s foot, but thankfully it didn’t.

Kagami held up his hand and entered Kuroko’s back yard, making sure to put an apologetic expression on his face. “Sorry, sorry! Didn’t mean to–uhm, throw it that hard.”

Blinking, Kuroko looked up at him and Kagami swore he felt something in him crack. Kuroko’s eyes were so… different somehow. Once upon a time Kuroko’s eyes had been emotionless when he looked at them. When they’d met it was always hard to tell what Kuroko was feeling, what he was thinking, but they’d grown so close that these days Kagami knew exactly what he was looking at. Furthermore, after Seirin and after all the Miracles had made amends, starting to hang out as normal again, Kuroko had been happy.

Kuroko had accomplished what he wished. To teach his friends his basketball and save them.

This was the Kuroko who was dealing with the beginning of what would harden and hurt him for a long time. It made Kagami swallow thickly. He could see it and maybe that was what hurt the most.

“Were you playing basketball in the street?” Kuroko enquired, his voice higher than what Kagami was used to.

“Eh… just got back from the court. Tried some dribbling, made a mistake, that kind of stuff.” Kagami cleared his throat and picked up the ball, feeling at a loss of what to do. Excuse himself,  just… go? He still felt he hadn’t done what he was supposed to do. “… You like basketball?”

Something flickered in Kuroko’s eyes. The young boy bit his lip for a brief second. “I…do.” It sounded hesitant and Kagami’s jaw clenched as he recalled a question Kuroko had asked him a long time ago: if he’d ever grown to hate something he’d used to love. At the time he hadn’t gotten it, hadn’t understood, but it was more vivid when he was seeing Kuroko like this. It made him feel for him. “What is your name, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Uh–I…” Kagami sweated. Should he use his real name? “T-Taiga… you can just call me Taiga.”

“Taiga?” Kuroko tilted his head. “I assume you’re not from here.”

“Just uh, got back from America.”

“I see.” Kuroko stood up and bowed. “Kuroko Tetsuya. Nice to meet you.”

“Ah– uhm, nice to meet you too.”

This was so strange. It was so, so strange. Kagami found himself rubbing the back of his neck as he attempted to think of what to do, what to say next. He couldn’t think of any purpose to him going back in time. In fact, it was probably an accident… wait… He almost hit himself in the head as he recalled the goddamn _clock_. He had turned the pointers _four times._ He had gone back _four years_. To go back, he probably had to turn them four times the other way. It made perfect sense.

He cursed in English under his breath at his own stupidity and Kuroko sent him a blank stare. Kagami cleared his throat and quickly said: “Uh, that’s a Teiko Junior High Uniform, right? I’ve– uh, heard their basketball team is crazy strong.”

Kuroko looked away. “Oh… yes, we are.”

“We? Oh, so you play?”

“I do. I’m in the first string.”

“ _Really_?” He faked astonishment. “But you’re so small.”

He felt a twinge of satisfaction when Kuroko showed clear irritation by that statement. _Tetsuya_ , he thought. _You don’t have to be afraid of your own emotions… c’mon…_ He lazily spun the ball he’d bought on his finger and hummed. “Guess it’s really impressive though, being on the first string of such a team. Still, you seem like you’re having mixed feelings about it. It’s just a hunch I’m getting… I think.” He added, eying Kuroko.

As expected the phantom sixth man looked mildly surprised that Kagami had been able to read him so well. Of course, this Kuroko had no idea they would meet for real in the future, that they would be the best high school team in Japan during their first year. That they would confess their feelings, spend every moment they could together. He didn’t know that Kagami had fallen head over heels for him and that he’d grown up because of him. He didn’t know that deep down Kagami just wanted to reach his arms out and hug him so he could tell him he just had to keep fighting, he just had to continue being strong because one day everything he’d been through would shape him into this beautiful person Kagami, honestly, even if he was just eighteen could see himself spending the rest of his life with.

“Lately, I have been struggling with my team, for various reasons,” was all Kuroko said, keeping his face blank as the mild surprise had died down.

Kagami didn’t expect Kuroko to open up to him. Right now, as much as it hurt, he was still a stranger to Kuroko and he knew his boyfriend didn’t trust people that blindly. He was polite and kind, but opening up who he was, what he was feeling and thinking, that was something else. Nevertheless, Kagami didn’t need that. He felt like he had already gotten what he’d intended to find with their interaction. He understood now, better than ever, just how strong his boyfriend was after everything he’d been through all by himself.

He understood, and he hadn’t even been talking to him long.

“Hey, uhm,” he attempted a soft smile and judging by the confusion in Kuroko’s eyes it must have worked a little too well for someone who he had “just met.” He glanced down at where his hands were holding the basketball. “I had this falling out myself with someone I care about over basketball. I don’t know what’s going on with you…” (Man, it felt weird lying to him…) “… but whatever it is, if you love basketball as much as I do, I think you should keep going.” He turned around and waved over his shoulder. “Because, if you think about it, it’s nothing quite like it!”

He didn’t get a response as he walked away, but he felt Kuroko’s gaze bury into the back of his neck as if he was trying to understand the strange encounter that had just taken place. When Kagami had walked down the street enough that Kuroko could not see him properly he turned his head around to spare one last glance at the house. He felt prouder than he’d ever done at that exact moment.

––––

He’d been right. Turning the clock four times the opposite way had gotten him back. After he’d done it, he’d carefully called out his brother’s name, for only to have him stick his head back from behind the bookshelf again. He’d never been happier to see Himuro Tatsuya’s face right there and then. He also felt especially relieved when he heard that Himuro had found something interesting.

“It’s a classic, old version of The Little Prince. Look at the nice illustrations.”

“The little what…?”

Himuro rolled his eyes and simply handed it over to him. “He’ll like it. Trust me.”

“Right, right thank you.”

Snorting with a smile, Himuro put his beanie on and buttoned his coat together. “So I’ll be there for the party tomorrow. I gotta run, because Atsushi just texted me and told me he’s in that candy shop three blocks from here and unless I stop him our cabinets will be full again.” Himuro shook his head and Kagami had to smile.

“Good thing you said he could live with you after you graduated.”

“Hey, he makes up for the tiring aspects of a candy addiction with glorious sex.”

“Ew, gross, get out of here.”

After bidding his teasing, laughing brother goodbye Kagami made a beeline for Kuroko’s house, making sure to put the newly bought gift in his backpack. He’d gotten a good prize for it considering the teenage girl working the cashier had guessed her way to what it might cost (Math was obviously not her strong suits), but he had something else he wanted to give Kuroko for his birthday, something a bit more… verbal.

He still felt like time traveling had been a dream and maybe it had been. Maybe he’d spaced out and thus experienced a pretty vivid daydream, but point was, he wanted to tell Kuroko something after this. Something he felt like he hadn’t said enough.

He was practically running towards Kuroko’s house, panting softly as he pushed the buzzer. Kuroko’s grandmother opened with a soft smile. Kagami politely greeted her and asked for Kuroko. She directed him towards his boyfriend’s bedroom, which he opened the door to slowly. Kuroko was sitting on his bed reading, headphones over his ears.

The blue haired boy barely had the chance to glance up, before Kagami had closed the door and quickly moved over. Confusion was written all over Kuroko’s face as he was enveloped into a tight, crushing hug, Kagami practically lifting him against him as they sat on the bed. “K-Kagami-kun? Is something wrong?” he asked softly, returning the warm hug. “I didn’t think I’d see you before tomorrow morning.”

“Just shut up for a second,” Kagami pulled away enough so he could look Kuroko in the eyes, beautiful big, blue eyes that were incredibly bewildered by his boyfriend’s strange behavior. “I want to tell you something. I’ve never told you this, ‘cause i-it’s embarrassing for me to say… y’know, shit like this, but it needs to be said. It needs to be said to _you_ because… fuck, Kuroko, I…”

He took a deep breath and squeezed Kuroko’s shoulders, his face deeply red as he spoke determinedly: “I think you’re amazing. I think you’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever known. You’ve fought your way through a lot of shit, and you’ve grown into this incredibly person that is very important to your friends, to your teammates… to _me_. You never gave up, never lost your morals and I didn’t get that before, but I get it now. You were all alone for a while when you lost them, but you found you way anyway and that’s… that’s _amazing_. So I want you to know that; I want you to know I admire you, that I think I’m a lucky idiot who gets to be with you.”

He took a deep breath after hurriedly having said it all in almost one go. He blushed furiously next as he captured Kuroko’s lips in a deep, loving kiss that he let last for a long time until he knew Kuroko needed to catch his breath.

With wide eyes Kuroko looked at him. “Kagami-kun…”

“And… and….” Kagami closed his eyes so he didn’t have to look at Kuroko’s expression right now. “I love you.”

They hadn’t said _that_ yet, but… he… realized he really did. More than anything. His chest felt warm. He opened one eye slowly to get a look at Kuroko’s expression. His eyes went wide when he realized Kuroko’s eyes were watery. “Kuroko I’m…”

“Shut up for a second, Kagami-kun.”

The last thing Kagami remembered was being pulled down by his collar to meet Kuroko’s lips again so hard that he had a feeling his lips would stay swollen until the birthday party they were going to host the next day. Kuroko flipped them over effectively and as they pulled away for air Kagami tried to get a word in, but he was once more interrupted by a pair of insistent lips.

He wouldn’t be able to tell anyone about what he’d just experienced, but as Kuroko slid his hands over his chest, kiss after kiss following, he realized he didn’t really care.

Some things were just better left unexplained, he supposed, and so far it didn’t seem like he had changed history. So far.

**Author's Note:**

> Commissioned by Wingroad @tumblr! Hope you enjoyed the fluff!


End file.
